Nine million for the 2026 SME Growth Bonus in Castilla-La Mancha

The General Directorate of Enterprises of the Regional Ministry of Economy, Enterprises and Employment has approved the call for grants for the SME Growth Bonus 2026 in Castilla-La Mancha, endowed with 9,000,000 euros from the own funds of the Junta de Comunidades. The resolution, signed on September 1, 2026, by the general director Santiago Tomás Baeza San Llorente, is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha number 174, of September 10, 2026, with reference 2026/6510 and an abstract registered in the National Grants Database (BDNS) with identifier 927685.

The objective is to facilitate financing for small and medium-sized enterprises to acquire strategic, technical, organizational, digital, and regulatory capabilities that increase their competitiveness, sustainability, productivity, and growth capacity. The grants are processed under a simplified competitive procedure, meaning that files are resolved as they are submitted and as long as available credit exists.

Regulatory framework and beneficiaries

The call is governed by Order 116/2026, of July 28, of the Regional Ministry of Economy, Enterprises and Employment, which establishes the regulatory bases of the program and was published in the DOCM number 146, of August 3, 2026. The grants are de minimis in nature according to Regulation (EU) 2023/2831, therefore the accumulated amounts for a company over a three-year period may not exceed 300,000 euros.

SMEs, according to the definition of Regulation (EU) 651/2014, regardless of their legal form, including communities of assets, may be beneficiaries, provided that they carry out the action in a workplace open and operating in Castilla-La Mancha. Companies in crisis and activities outside the scope of the de minimis regulation are excluded.

Amounts, intensity and deadlines

The credit of 9,000,000 euros is distributed over two annual periods:

• 3,000,000 euros for the 2026 budget year.
• 6,000,000 euros for the 2027 year.

The grant intensity reaches 60% of the eligible expenses when the application obtains up to 40 points, and 80% when it exceeds that score. The maximum amount per action is 12,000 euros, with a total limit of 60,000 euros per entity and call. The execution period for each action shall be a maximum of six months from the notification of the award.

Submission and evaluation criteria

Applications shall be submitted exclusively electronically with an electronic signature through the electronic office of the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, addressed to the head of the General Directorate of Enterprises. The period will be open from the day following the publication of the resolution until June 30, 2027.

The evaluation, based on a maximum of 60 points, assesses the company’s growth objectives, the suitability of the actions, the schedule, and the location. Additional points are awarded to projects in priority areas and in municipalities at risk of depopulation, with bonuses of 20%, 30%, and 40% depending on the degree of depopulation, in line with the Regional Strategy against Depopulation.

The resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies, may be appealed via an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) before the head of the Ministry of Economy, Business, and Employment within one month. With a budget of nine million and an application period of nearly ten months, the program presents itself as one of the Junta’s main tools to strengthen the regional business fabric and curb depopulation in rural areas.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 174, September 10, 2026, section III (Other provisions and acts), page 31711 (official reference: 2026/6510).